Bay Area Home Sales: Record Prices, Near-Record Sales

April 14, 2005

La Jolla, CA.----Home prices in the Bay Area rose to new highs in March as sales for that month were at their highest level in sixteen years, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 11,310 new and resale houses and condos were sold in the nine-county region in March. That was up 51.5 percent from 7,463 for the previous month, and up 2.7 percent from 11,015 for March last year, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

Sales always increase from February to March. Last month's sales count was the highest for any March since 11,442 homes were sold in March 1989.

"Demand still appears to be stronger than supply, which puts upward pressure on prices. People seem to be increasingly willing to let the homes they live in represent a higher portion of their net worth. I suppose parking wealth in real estate is more attractive than investing in the stock market," said Marshall Prentice, DataQuick president.

The median price paid for a Bay Area home was $568,000, a new record. That was up 3.5 percent from $549,000 in February, and up 19.8 percent from $474,000 for March a year ago.

Prices are going up at their fastest pace in four years.

DataQuick, a subsidiary of Vancouver-based MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates, monitors real estate activity nationwide and provides information to consumers, educational institutions, public agencies, lending institutions, title companies and industry analysts.

The typical monthly mortgage payment that Bay Area buyers committed themselves to paying was $2,566 in March, an all-time high. A year ago it was $2,052.

Indicators of market distress are still largely absent. Foreclosure rates are low, down payment sizes are stable and there have been no significant shifts in market mix, DataQuick reported.

All Homes	No Sold Mar-04	No Sold Mar-05	Pct. Chg	Median Mar-04	Median Mar-05	Pct. Chg
Alameda	2,254	2,295	1.8%	$438K	$527K	20.3%
Contra Costa	2,213	2,198	-0.7%	$413K	$514K	24.5%
Marin	425	451	6.1%	$672K	$812K	20.8%
Napa	226	207	-8.4%	$483K	$559K	15.7%
San Francisco	676	660	-2.4%	$595K	$696K	17.0%
San Mateo	789	855	8.4%	$587K	$725K	23.5%
Santa Clara	2,813	2,823	0.4%	$520K	$606K	16.5%
Solano	867	1,029	18.7%	$327K	$409K	25.1%
Sonoma	752	792	5.3%	$416K	$506K	21.6%
Bay Area	11,015	11,310	2.7%	$474K	$568K	19.8%

Source: DataQuick Information Systems, www.DQNews.com

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